Secrets
by Marblez
Summary: His girlfriend is changing before his eyes...and he doesn't like it. WARNING - DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE SLASH, ABUSE, VIOLENCE, ANGST ets. Do read if you don't like Gabriella.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Changing.**

The slap had been so unexpected that Troy didn't know what to do other than stare at his angry looking girlfriend, her hand still raised. His only movement was to bring on hand up to gently touch his stinging cheek. Just minutes earlier he'd been talking to one of the cheerleaders, Terri…well he'd been talking whilst she'd been blatantly flirting when Gabby had stormed up, grabbed Troy by the hand, pulled him into an empty classroom and slapped him. Hard.

"Gabby, wha-" he began once he'd recovered the use of his voice.

"Don't play the innocent with me Troy. You stay the Hell away from those cheerleader skanks! You're mine and I won't stand you cheating on me!" she all but screamed in his face, her eyes full of anger and jealousy.

"Gabby I'm not-"

"Shut it Troy, I know what you're like! Boys are all the same. But I won't stand for it, you're mine Troy and don't you forget it!" She'd grabbed his arms now and her longs nails were digging in painfully.

"Gabby what's gotten into you?" Troy asked, hoping she'd calm down so that he wouldn't have to force her to let go. He didn't want to hurt her in order to get her to calm down and let him go, he wasn't that kind of a person.

"Sorry Troy, it's just…I love you so much and I can't bear the thought of loosing you," her voice was sickly sweet now and she did her best to act completely innocent as she stepped back, her hand dropping to her sides, clenching every now and then. "Forgive me?" He sighed,

"Of course I forgive you Gabby," he told her, leaning down and pecking her cheek gently even though his own cheek still stung and no doubt had a red handprint on it. The bell rang loudly, as much a saving grace now as it was before any holiday.

"Oh no! I'll be late for Chemistry! See you later Troy!" her kiss on his cheek was hard and made him jerk his head back. She didn't notice as she was already on her way out of the door leaving Troy to wonder what was happening to his lovely girlfriend. Where had the girl he had fallen for gone?

After the slap things returned to normal for the two teenagers…well at least for a couple of weeks. Sixteen days for example. Because on the seventeenth day Gabby flipped once again and all because of a decision Miss Darbus made about the summer musical. The couple hadn't been in the Spring Musical before the holiday, being too busy with each other and other things and their decision had turned out be a good idea, it kept Sharpay happy and the musical itself had been rather…bad. But no one told Sharpay that of course. But they'd decided, after the success of the summer talent competition to give the Summer Musical a go. A bad idea.

"This musical is set around four young people who will be played by Miss Evans, Mr Evans, Miss Montez and Mr Bolton," the beginning of Mrs Darbus' explanation hadn't been too bad, "It is set in the late Nineteenth Century. Mr Bolton's character is torn between two women, Miss Evans and Miss Montez. Mr Evans plays another lead in love with Miss Montez but Miss Briants character is also in love with him. The story line is a little too complicated to explain right here and now."

"How does it End Miss Darbus?" Gabby asked sickly sweet and Troy almost dreaded the insane Drama teachers answer.

"A good question Miss Montez. It ends up with two couples. Mr Evans and Miss Briants. Mr Bolton and…Miss Evans. And Miss Montez closes the show with a song about heartbreak and being all alone," Mrs Darbus explained dramatically and Troy winced as the hand that Gabby had been previously holding gently tightened to a painful squeeze. Her face contained a masked fury that filled Troy with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. "Now the scripts are named and on the table for you to collect on you're way out and we begin the rehearsals next Tuesday after school. You have until then to go over your lines and familiarise yourself with the play and the music. There will be separate rehearsals later on for soloists and leads." And then the teacher walked grandly from the theatre followed by her usual entourage of students.

"Hi Troy! I got your script for you!" Sharpay squealed as she held out the scarily thick wad of paper, "My brother and I have already read it. Can't wait to start rehearsing out love scenes! Toodles!" she gave him a wave and a giggle and then clicked away in her designer heels.

The theatre was emptying slowly but Gabby remained sitting and didn't let go of her tight hold on Troy's hand so he couldn't leave. He was dreading what was going to happen when they were alone, yes he, Troy Bolton was dreading being alone with his girlfriend. It was unheard of. Slowly she rose and face him, letting go of his hands to take firm holds in his shirt before speaking in a growl,

"If you kiss her or fuck her I will kill you."

"Gabby, I'm not into Sharpay. I'm not going to screw around Gabby," she was barely listening her realised. Suddenly he wished they hadn't slept together, this whole jealousy problem had only begun after they had actually gone all the way.

"You'd better not," she let go of him and they faced each other, she sorting out her clothes which were messed slightly from sitting down for so long, he watching her warily in case she was going to slap him again, "I'll be coming round tonight. Now we'd better get to class." Her voice was calm and once she was done sorting herself out she leaned up and forcefully kissed his lips before flouncing, yes she flounced, out of the theatre. Troy was wondering if he was ever going to get his old girlfriend back ever again.

TBC…

A/N Any comments?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. **AU to the third one now that it's out (Doesn't it rock btw?)** Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Trapped.**

"Yo! Troy! Movies tonight, you coming?" Zeke asked as the guys walked from the basketball court after a gruelling practise. The sweat was literally dripping off of them so as usual they all headed straight for the showers, stripping of their practise uniforms as they went.

"Nah. Gabby's coming over," Troy answered almost apologetically.

"Man she should get you a collar to go with that leash," Chad laughed loudly.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Troy glared at his best friend, thumping him on the arm playfully, pretending to be his old self for his friends. Still glaring at them he pulled his jersey off and threw it into the basket for dirty uniforms.

"Whoa man! Where'd all those scratches come from?" Jason asked as Troy's back was put on display to them. There were loads on the back of his shoulders and some more one his lower back. His cheeks flushed a deep red.

"Oooooh Gabriella is feisty!" someone suggested loudly. Troy's friends laughed as his blush deepened and he snapped a quiet,

"Shut up guys."

They laughed some more as he was the first to enter the team showers. They joined him in a few minutes but by then he was almost ready to go, wanting to hide the scratches they thought to be amusing.

"Fast today Bolton," Chad commented as he started the often long process of shampooing his big hair.

"Don't want to keep my girl waiting," he answered with a fake cheerfulness. What he said was true however, he didn't want to keep her waiting because then she'd hopefully be more like her old self, more like the Gabriella he loved.

"Man she has you completely under her thumb dude!" someone laughed loudly. Chad moved, stepping a little into Troy's personal space and peering closely at his best friends forehead. Then, with everyone watching, he placed his thumb right in the centre of Troy's forehead.

"Yup, there it is. The thumb print," Chad said sadly, "You're doomed." The team roared with laughter as Troy shoved him out of the way and, wrapping a towel around his waist, left for his locker.

"Gabby! My parents are downstairs!" Troy protested quietly as she kicked his bedroom door shut and slipped the straps of her little summer dress down her arms.

"And? I want you," Gabriella said calmly, pulling her dress down so it landed about her ankles, "Get your clothes of Troy." She calmly kicked the dress away and reached around to her back to unclip her black bra.

"I am not going to have sex with my parents downstairs!" Troy hissed at her.

"Yes…you…are!" she snapped, throwing her bra away so she could forcibly undo his belt. "Get your top off!" Sighing almost sadly, his hopes that Gabriella would be her old self for one night fading rapidly, he pulled his shirt over his head.

"We'll have to be quiet," he gave in as she pulled his belt from the loops on his jeans. She clapped happily before hurriedly stripping both of them of the rest of their clothes…

Two weeks flew by for Troy, two weeks full of basketball and school and Gabriella (complete with her unpredictable mood swings). Sometimes she was almost the Gabriella he held in his heart and his memory but others times, the majority of times she was a jealous bitch that Troy could barely recognise. And she never wanted to talk or simply hang out any more; all she wanted to do…was fuck.

"Troy…" Gabriella purred into his ear as they sat together in the cafeteria.

"Not tonight Gabriella," Troy said slowly, "The games tonight."

"Oh right, I forgot," she shrugged and turned to Taylor, starting up a conversation with her brainy friend. Troy stared at the back of her head for a moment in shock; she'd forgotten his game!

"Who the hell are you?" he asked himself.

"What was that?" Gabriella asked, turning back to him briefly.

"Nothing," Troy answered, "I'm gonna go shoot some hoops."

"Ok," she smiled at him, tilting her head to the side expectantly. Obediently Troy kissed her briefly on the lips before leaving the table, dumping the remainder of his lunch on the way out. He changed his top in the locker room but didn't bother changing his khaki pants or his trainers, heading out onto the basketball court after grabbing a ball. Now as everyone in the school knew shooting hoops was normally easy for Troy Bolton but only a few people knew that when he was upset or worried his game was really off…like today.

"Something wrong Troy?" the deep voice behind him startled him and he spun, finding his dad watching him. Troy shrugged, turned back and shot the ball towards the hoop. It missed by a shocking amount. "What is it?"

"Nothing Coach," Troy shrugged.

"I'm not talking as your Coach now son," his dad said softly, "What is it?"

"Nothing Dad," Troy tried another shot and missed.

"Well get it sorted out before the game tonight, it's throwing off your game," he was automatically back to being his Coach, "Plus I hate seeing you upset like this. You know you can talk to me Troy."

"I know Dad. It's nothing important," Troy said, lining up for another shot.

"If you say so," his dad finally said just as the bell sounded loudly, "You should get to your class son. I'll see you later."

"Kay dad," Troy nodded, throwing the ball to his dad when the older man beckoned for it. He jogged into the locker room and changed back into his normal shirts before heading to his final class of the day.

It was a close game against the West High Knights but when wasn't it when they played their rivals. Troy forced himself to forget about everything but the game, forget about all of the trouble with Gabriella and the new scratches and bruises on his back from the night before. He played his heart out like the rest of his time and in the end they won by two tiny points. Unsurprisingly the gym was in uproar once the buzzer sounded and while Troy was scanning the crowd for his girlfriend he found himself with an armful of cheerleader.

"Well done Troy!" Terri squealed happily.

"Thanks Terri," Troy smiled at her, hugging her back. And that was when she kissed him, such a different kiss from Gabriella's. It was similar to their first few kisses but the complete opposite of the ones they shared lately. And she was wearing strawberry flavoured lip-gloss that tasted really nice. Troy had always had a weakness for strawberries. "Wait, I have a…Gabriella…" he said awkwardly, pushing Terri away from him.

"I know Troy! It was just a congratulations!" the cheerleader with an obvious crush of him laughed loudly, pecking him on the lips once more before moving on to hug Zeke almost as enthusiastically. No kiss for him though.

"Troy."

Troy winced at the dead tone to her voice and he turned to face her. Her face was calm but her eyes were furious and that told him she'd seen everything that had just happened. Her hand reached out and grabbed his upper arm, her nails digging in to the sweaty flesh.

"Gabby it was…"

"Stop. I won't hear it now," she hissed at him before smiling in a completely fake way throwing her arms around him in a hug, "Congratulations Wildcat!"

"Er…thanks Gabby," he said, hugging her back. She kissed him and then hissed in his ear, her other hand pulling painfully on his hair,

"We'll talk about **that** later."

"How dare you kiss her!" Gabriella screamed at the top of her voice and Troy was immensely glad his dad had taken his mum out to dinner to celebrate their victory. "Have you had her? Have you fucked her here? In your room?"

"No! Gabby I wouldn't cheat on you!" Troy defended himself.

"You just did!" she screamed and this time Troy had expected the slap and stepped back in time to miss it. "You are mine Troy! Mine!"

"What is with you?" Troy asked angrily, "Where is the nice girl I met on Christmas vacation? Where is the funny girl who used to laugh at my pathetic jokes? Why have you changed into something…something so horrible?"

"Horrible?! I haven't changed Troy! You've changed! You don't care about me anymore! What? You've had me now you want to have everyone else? Why don't you just jump into bed with Sharpay? I'm sure she'd put on a great show for you," Gabriella screamed at him.

"I care about you more than anything in the world Gabriella," Troy said quietly, looking down at her sadly, "Or I thought I did. I care about the **old **Gabriella more than anything in the entire world."

"I'm still the old Gabriella as you so nicely put it!" Gabriella screamed, the veins on her neck starting to stick out more than usual.

"No you're not!" Troy shouted at her, getting right up close to her face, "You are anything but the old Gabriella! The old Gabriella would never have believed anything you've been saying to me for so long and the old Gabriella would never have dreamed of hurting me the way you have!"

"Hurt you?" Gabriella laughed, "How have I hurt the big strong basketball jock?" Troy glared at her before pulling up his shirt, showing her the bruises and scratches on his chest and stomach, "That's not hurting you. That's rough sex." She dismissed it so easily.

"And what about all the times you've slapped me?" Troy asked.

"Aw the poor big basketball jock, hurt by a lovers quarrel," she laughed loudly. "Grow up Troy."

"Fine. I will grow up," he finally said after a long pause with the two of them glaring at each other, "Get out."

"What?" Gabriella asked disbelievingly.

"I said get out! We're over!" Troy shouted at her.

"What do you mean 'we're over'? You can't dump me!" she screeched angrily, her hands reaching out to grab his shirt.

"Yes I can and I am. I deserve better than this. I loved you Gabriella, I loved you as you were. I don't love you now," Troy said sadly, trying to remove her hands from his shirt. She looked more than furious now.

"You can't dump me! I won't let you!" she screamed, reaching up to scratch at his face, "You can't dump me!"

"Why not?" he asked, pushing her off of him but not before receiving some nasty scratches to his face that would be hell to explain to everyone.

"BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT!!!!"

A/N He he.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. **AU to the third one now that it's out (Doesn't it rock btw?)** Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Announcements.**

_"You can't dump me! I won't let you!" she screamed, reaching up to scratch at his face, "You can't dump me!"_

_"Why not?" he asked, pushing her off of him but not before receiving some nasty scratches to his face that would be hell to explain to everyone._

_"BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT!!!!"_

"Y-You're what?!?" Troy asked, stumbling back away from her, "How?"

"I should think that bits a bit obvious," Gabriella snapped at him, one hand now resting on her still flat stomach. Troy blushed.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Gabriella snapped again, "I took three different tests and they all said the same thing. I'm pregnant Troy."

"Is it mine?"

**SLAP! **

"How dare you imply that it would be anyone but yours?!?" she screamed at him, raising her hand to slap him again, "Are you calling me a slut? A whore?"

"No!" Troy gasped, grabbing her wrist to stop the slap before it struck, "I'm sorry Gabby, it just slipped out." As gently as possible he pushed her hand down until it was at her side once more, "It's just a-a bit of a shock. I mean…fuck."

"Exactly what I've been thinking. I don't want to be a teenage single mum Troy, please don't make me be a teenage single mum. Now do you see why you can't dump me?" Gabriella asked, making her voice sound as scared as possible when inside she was cheering. At the nod of his head she knew she had him.

"So…what are we going to do?"

"I don't know Troy," Gabriella said, using her impressive acting skills to convince him that she was frightened by the uncertainty of their future.

"Well, we should tell our parents and then…well you should get checked out by a doctor," Troy said quietly, his gaze slipping down to stare at her belly. "You don't…you don't want to get rid of it do you?"

"No!" she screamed at him, her hands clenching at her sides. "No."

"Ok, I just had to…check," Troy said quietly.

"Troy! We're home!"

"Well Wildcat, no time like the present. Your first, then mine," Gabriella said, taking his hand and pulling him to the door. Troy didn't have time to argue before he was being dragged downstairs to tell his parents their little bit of news.

"You're what?!?" the Bolton's had screamed, staring at Gabriella who held on to Troy's hand too tightly, using it as a lifeline as she faced the angry parents of her boyfriend. "You two…?!?"

"Yes dad, we have and she is," Troy said quietly.

"Does you mum know Gabriella?" Mrs Bolton asked softly.

"Not yet. I only told Troy a few minutes ago," Gabriella said quietly.

"I'll call her," Mrs Bolton jumped up, heading for the phone, "She needs to come over so you can tell her and we can all…talk." They waited in silence as she made the phone call, not telling the other mum anything about why she needed to come over, just urging her to do so. The silence continued for the twenty minutes it took Gabriella's mum to arrive.

"What's going on?" Mrs Montez asked as she put her handbag down and took the offered seat opposite the teenagers and alongside the Bolton's.

"Your daughter has something to tell you," Coach Bolton said coldly.

"What is it Gabby?" Mrs Montez asked worriedly.

"Mum, don't get mad but…I'm pregnant."

"WHAT!!!!!" So much for not getting mad.

It had taken Mrs Montez ten minutes to calm down and then the arguing over what to do began. Abortion was argued about and dismissed in the end, everyone agreeing that the child deserved to live. Adoption was argued about but Gabby didn't want to give away her baby. This settled they talked about the pros and cons of keeping the baby when it was born but again Gabby was adamant she would not give her child away. It was going to grow up with its parents, with Gabriella…and Troy. Then the subject of school was discussed, should she still go to school when she started to really show. Gabby said that she would make that decision when the time came and not before.

If the parents noticed that Troy stayed pretty much silent during this argument no one said anything about it. None of them noticed the way that Gabby's nails were digging into his hand either.

Compared to telling their parents telling their friends was much, much…harder. They called a meeting of their group, once again using Troy's house, and sat them all down in the various seats before standing before them.

"We have some news to tell you," Gabriella said quietly.

"You're getting married?" Chad asked in pretend shock, "Oh I can't wait to pick out my bridesmaids dress!" He and Zeke laughed loudly, giving each other a hi-five over Sharpay's head as she sat between them. Taylor glared at her boyfriend whose knee she was perched on (all the seats had gone but she didn't mind an excuse to snuggle with Chad).

"We aren't getting married…but we are going to have a baby," Gabriella was grinning broadly as she spoke slowly. Taylor screamed. Kelsi's jaw dropped in shock. Sharpay fainted onto Zeke who took a moment of staring at the couple before he reacted to his girlfriend's dead weight on his shoulder. Ryan gasped, a hand covering his mouth. And Chad froze.

"Is anyone gonna say anything?" Troy asked quietly, putting his hands almost protectively on Gabriella's shoulders. Even after everything that had happened and all the things she still continued to do it was still his child and he would protect Gabby against any harsh words sent her way.

"Bloody hell." Chad.

"Why didn't you use protection?" Taylor.

"Are you keeping it?" Kelsi.

"Why does everyone keep asking us that?!? Of course we're keeping our baby!" Gabriella snapped at her friend. Kelsi mumbled an apology, looking down.

"What do your parents think?" Ryan asked.

"They're accepting it," Gabriella said, her voice calm once again. "So are you going to stand by us as our friends or are you going to leave us to struggle alone?" Troy mused silently that she was getting really good at guilt tripping people into doing everything that she wanted. She wanted her pack of friends to defend her when the news was spread around the school. And now they would.

"Of course we're going to stand by you!" Taylor gasped, jumping up to hug her best friend, "It's just a bit of a shock Gabby, you've got to understand that?"

"Oh I do, believe me I do," Gabriella chuckled softly.

"So…what now?" Kelsi asked.

"Now, we go shopping! The babies things wont appear out of no where!" Gabriella laughed happily. Kelsi and Taylor squealed excitedly, jumping up to hug their pregnant friend, already talking about buying both things for the baby and things for Gabriella to wear when her belly started to grow. "You boys can stay here and do whatever boys do to congratulate each other." It was so dismissive but no one noticed, except Troy who it was carelessly aimed at.

"What about Sharpay?" Zeke asked, still holding his girlfriends unconscious gently. She was really out of it this time.

"She'll have to stay here with you boys. Bake her a cake or something," Gabriella laughed and then the three girls were skipping out of the room and eventually out of the house to Taylor's car, leaving behind a silent group of boys and an unconscious drama queen.

"So now what?" Chad asked.

"Shoot some hoops?" Troy suggested the only thing he could think of.

So they did the only thing any of them could think of.

They shot some hoops.

A/N Short I know but I wanted to leave it there. Soz.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. **AU to the third one now that it's out (Doesn't it rock btw?)** Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Discovery.**

Troy felt trapped, trapped by a girl he hardly recognised any more. At four months gone she was starting to show through her girl summer dresses she always wore and her hormones were giving her even more violent mood swings. He was almost afraid to be alone with her now…

"So then I thought we could maybe get everyone to sing a few songs at the reception like a sort of karaoke only not bad…" Gabriella said, smiling around at their friends at the lunch table, interrupting his thoughts. But her subject of conversation brought even worse thoughts to surface of his mind.

She was planning their wedding.

This was it. This was his life now, a life with a girl he couldn't love any more who seemed to almost enjoy hurting him. She always wore this sick little smile when she hit him now, when she bit him and scratched him, when she pushed him into the wall, when she scraped his knuckles along brick walls…

"So what do you think Troy?" she asked once she was finished explaining her plans. Their friends had all been nodding in agreement with her ideas and suggestions, throwing helpful hints in but he'd been silent, thinking…remembering…

"S'Ok," he mumbled, squirming in his seat as she glared at him.

"You could try to sound a little enthusiastic about it Troy," she snapped at him, "This is our wedding I'm talking about here!"

"I'm sorry but…" Troy didn't know whether it was his last ounce of bravery or just pure stupidity that made him say it, made him anger her but he did, "I haven't actually asked you to marry me." The entire table gasped in shock as Gabriella's face hardened, a scowl spreading across her pretty features.

"Troy. I'm pregnant, of course we're going to get married," she said, not even to try and hide her anger with him as she squeezed his hand on the table, digging her long nails into his palm.

"But Gabby, what about collage? Basketball?" Troy asked softly, thinking that as he was already dead in her books he might as well continue. From what he'd heard of her plans once the baby was born she would attend classes at the University of Albuquerque while he would get a job to support them.

"What about it?" Gabriella asked tightly.

"What do you mean, what about it? I want to go to collage too, I want to continue with my basketball," Troy said, noticing that their friends were now looking rather awkward. Of course they'd never seen them fight before. Not that this was much of a fight; no that would come later when they were alone…

"I think we should talk about this alone."

…or now.

Troy sighed and followed Gabriella out of the cafeteria, not looking back at their friends. She walked a few paces in front of him, not looking back either, obviously assuming (correctly) that he would follow her. Finally in a quiet hallway and strangely enough by the door to the boys bathroom she spun around and glared at him, her hands clenching at her sides.

"What the hell was that about?!" she practically screamed.

"I want to go to college Gabriella, I want to follow my dream of taking basketball to the next level," Troy repeated his earlier statement as he stood in front of her. It came as no surprise to him when she slapped him.

"Well you can't! You won't!" she snapped at him, "You're dream is dead. Get over it. Now I'm coming over tonight and I don't want to hear one more fucking word about you going to college. Accept it now Troy, that's not going to happen."

Troy didn't say anything, just flinched as leaned up and kissed his lips before walking off, the picture of happiness and innocence. Sighing deeply he ducked into the toilets and looked at himself into the mirror. His cheek was turning red. He turned on the cold tap and used his hands to splash water onto his face, the cool water soothing the sting and hiding his tears. When he stood up however he got the shock of his life. Standing behind him, meeting his gaze in the mirror was Ryan Evans.

And his expression told Troy that he had seen everything.

"Ryan…"

A/N There we go, another chapter as I needed a break from my Twilight/HP story. It's driving me insane! And this was just begging to be continued. Hope you liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. **AU to the third one now that it's out (Doesn't it rock btw?)** Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Denial.**

"Ryan…"

"Troy," Ryan said softly, stepping further into the bathroom.

"That wasn't what it looked like," Troy protested weakly.

"So Gabriella didn't slap you?" Ryan asked, walking up to stand beside Troy, looking at the red handprint burning on the lightly tanned skin.

"Well…yes, but…but I deserved it," Troy mumbled, rubbing at the red mark.

"Troy," Ryan said softly, grabbing the stronger boys wrist and pulling his hand away from the mark. "You'll make it worse," he explained softly. Letting go of Troy's wrist he pulled out a few paper towels, wet them under the cold tap and pressed it to the injured cheek. "So how exactly did you deserve it?"

"I…I…" Troy mumbled. What could he say?

"You don't know, do you?" Ryan asked, sadness filling his eyes. What had happened to Troy Bolton, the strong and confident basketball player? What had Gabriella done to him?

"No, I do…" Troy mumbled, "I…I forgot that…that Gabriella and the baby comes first now is all…look…look Ryan it's ok…she just…I just…it's ok. Just…just don't tell anyone ok? Gabby's got enough to worry about without everyone knowing she slapped me this one time."

"One time?" Ryan asked softly.

"Y-Yes. One time," Troy lied, "Please…promise you won't tell…"

"I wont tell…as long as you promise me something," Ryan said calmly, turning Troy gently so that they faced each other, "Promise me that you'll come to me for help if this…if she ever get's out of hand."

"It wont," Troy shook his head, "And…and she didn't mean to. She's just…the baby and everything…We're ok. We're fine."

"Ok. If you're sure," Ryan said softly, not believing him for a minute, "But I'm here if you need me. Now, lets see what that cheek looks like now…" He pulled the damp towels from Troy's cheek and assessed the damage. "Much better."

"Thanks Ryan," Troy said, looking in the mirror quickly to check for himself before he dropped the paper towels in the rubbish bin, "Well…I'd best get back."

"Ok Troy, see you around," Ryan said softly, watching the other boy leave the bathroom. Oh yes, he would be seeing him, he'd be watching him very closely indeed because something was not right and Ryan was going to find out what.

Over the next two weeks Ryan watched Troy more closely than he'd ever watched him before and he became well versed in the subject that was the other boys excuses and explanations for…everything. And he was so convincing that he was either telling the truth and Ryan was being paranoid and seeing something that wasn't there…or Troy Bolton was a much better actor than people gave him credit for.

However it turned out that Ryan wasn't the only person who had started to notice that something seemed off…Miss Darbus had noticed as well.

Even though she was merely a Drama teacher and had no involvement whatsoever in the sports department she knew that the bruises that she kept seeing their rehearsals couldn't possibly all be from playing the various sports that he did. And the way he always looked slightly panicked for a split second whenever someone asked about them filled her gut with worry.

So much worry that when he told her that an obviously hand shaped bruise had come from falling against a wall she marched herself straight down to Coach Bolton's office, slammed her hands down on his table interrupting the private meeting he wad having with the principal and demanded in her loudest voice,

"Are you the one putting all the bruises on your sons arms?"

A/N Uh-oh. Someone's got the wrong end of the stick…more coming soon I hope as things continue to get even more…shall we say interesting? Yes, interesting is a good word to describe the plan I have for this story.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N Set after both movies. Oh and I'm British and my knowledge of the American school system is very limited so please excuse mistakes.

**Warning: Eventual slash and an evil Gabriella. **

**Secrets. **

**Accusations.**

_ "Are you the one putting all the bruises on your sons arms?"_

Coach Bolton felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach, closely followed by his lower jaw as he stared up at the drama teacher in shock. Finally he recovered enough of his wits to react.

"What?" he demanded, his voice little more than a hiss.

"I said are you the one putting all the bruises on your sons arms?!"

The theatrical teachers voice rose in both pitch and volume, her cheeks burning an angry red colour as she glared down at him.

"No!" he cried out immediately, jumping up from his feet so that he towered over the teacher issuing the accusation against him. "No – I would never…how dare you come into my office and accuse me of…of hurting my son?! What give you the right to–"

"Your sons arms are covered in bruises, bruises which cannot possibly have been acquired whilst playing basketball," Mrs Darbus explained, her voice tight with anger as she continued to glare up at the man she had previously trusted and respected. "Not to mention the fact that during last weeks costume fitting he all but refused to allow anyone near him and spent most of his time fussing with his shirt so that it showed as little skin as possible."

"How would you know what bruises can and cannot be explained by basketball?" Coach Bolton demanded angrily even as his mind took him back to the last time he had really looked at his sons arms…there hadn't been any odd bruises…had there?

"Well how else would you explain pinch marks on the inside of his wrists and elbows? Not to mention the scratches…"

"…scratches?" he asked, his voice beginning to tremble slightly. "Why…"

"Are you saying that you are not the one holding your son's arms so tight that he bruises? That you aren't the one digging your nails in to get some point across? What is it? Doesn't he play your silly little game well enough?!"

"How **dare** you?! How…I would never…fuc–"

"C-Coach?"

The startled voice of one of his basketball players drew their attention to the door where a group of player had gathered, all of them obviously drawn by the explosive argument unfolding inside the small room.

"Is everything…ok?"

"I have not now nor have I ever touched my son in anger," Coach Bolton hissed at the drama teacher, his eyes burning with a fiery passion that put an end to her accusations as he stormed past her to face his team. "Have any of you…have any of you noticed if anything is wrong with my…with Troy?"

"No…" "Not really…" "Well there was…"

"There was what?" Coach Bolton asked softly, hoping that whatever the boys would come out with could offer a simple and logical explanation that didn't mean that he had failed to notice that his son was being abused…

"It's just something he said once…"

The boy in question, Tyler, was flushing a deep red colour. Obviously whatever he was about to tell his coach had him feeling more than a little embarrassed/uncomfortable.

"He…um…he told…well he didn't tell us but he didn't deny it either…it's just…apparently Gabriella can be a little bit…feisty…when they…they…"

"Oh."

"Um…yeah…"

If the boys face got any hotter his head would probably explode…

"Right…" Coach Bolton mumbled, his mind filling his vision with a series of completely unwanted images. Troy was his little boy and, although there was obvious evidence that his innocence was long gone he didn't need to be told that his baby boy like it…like that…or that he and his girlfriend play…like that… "Thanks…um…you can go now boys…see you tomorrow…"

Turning he slowly faced the slightly deflated drama teacher.

"He…um…"

"I heard."

Her voice was still tense and her eyes were still worried.

"I'm sorry that I accused you of…" she began but he interrupted, holding his hand up as he gasped tearfully,

"I would never lay a hand on my little boy…**never**…"

"I'm sorry…" she apologised softly once more. "I was just worried about…"

"I know…" he sighed, rubbing a hand across his suddenly tired eyes. "When did everything get so messed up? When did he stop being my little boy…and how did I not notice?"

"A parent cannot know everything about their children," Mrs Darbus murmured softly, trying to reassure him as he sunk back down into his chair, placing his heavy head in his hands. "It's simply not possible."

"But…how could I not have noticed…he got a girl pregnant!" he gasped, his voice coming out choked off as he admitted his feeling of complete and utter failure to someone else for the first time. "How could I not have noticed that my little boy was old enough to be…experimenting? I should have…I should have warned him again…prepared him some more…"

"Well…hindsight's a bitch…" Mrs Darbus sighed deeply, earning a shocked glance from the distraught father. "What? I can swear you know."

"I just…I know you can…I just…it's weird…" Coach Bolton admitted softly. "Everything's so weird at the moment…so fucked up…I mean…Troy…and Gabriella…and the baby…and now bruises? How did things get so out of control?"

Unfortunately there was no answer that Mrs Darbus could give.

A/N Wow! This has been ages in coming! Sorry! Hope it's ok. Gotta find my plan for this story now so I can remember what I was gonna do…LOL!


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